Ornamental device

ABSTRACT

An article of jewelry comprises a setting composed of several parts releasably secured together and an ornamental element held between the parts and exposed at a window in one of the parts. The element may be a disc composed of a precious metal with decorative indicia placed thereon, or it may be an ornament such as a valuable coin. A number of such objects may be interchangeably used with a single setting. A member is attached to one of the parts of the setting and is employed to support the jewelry article in a carrying position when the article is used for personal adornment. Such a member may take the form of a cufflink clasp bar, a tie pin clasp bar, a money clip fastening device, a ring mounting or the like.

United States Patent Korwin 5] June 20, 197 2 [5 4] ORNAIVIENTAL DEVICE Primary Examiner-Louis G. Mancene 72 Inventor: Irving Korwin, New Rochelle, N.Y. f

Attorney-James and Franklin [73] Assignee: Wideband Jewelry Corp., New York, NY. 22 Filed: March 30, 1970 [57] ABSTRACT [21] AppL No; 23,885 An article of jewelry comprises a setting composed of several parts releasably secured together and an ornamental element held between the parts and exposed at a window in one of the [52] U-S- Cl parts 'The element may be a disc omposed of a p egious I [5 1] Int. Cl ..A44c 15/00 metal i decorative indicia placed thereon, it may be an [58] Field of Search ..40/l.5; 63/18, 19, 23, 26 ornament such as a valuable coin A number of such objects may be interchangeably used with a single setting. A member [56] References cited is attached to one of the parts of the setting and is employed to UNITED STATES PATENTS support the jewelry article in a carrying position when the article is used for personal adornment. Such a member may take l,396,l37 l 1/1921 Mitchel ..40/ 1.5 the f f a m clasp bar, a tie pin clasp bar, a money 2, l BI'OWI'I ..40/l.5 fastening device a ring mounting o the 3,439,439 4/1969 Stimson ..40/l.5

2 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJMO I972 INVENTOR IRWING KORWI N ATTORNEY ORNAMENTAL DEVICE This invention relates to jewelry articles and specifically to a jewelry article adapted to releasably hold various ornamental objects.

A large number of ornamental devices are currently commercially available. A common requirement of such devices is that they be visually attractive. The attractive appearance is usually achieved by providing a lustrous or a colorful setting, or by providing an ornamental object such as a precious stone which is inherently attractive. Generally a setting and omamental object are combined and .secured together prior to purchase by a customer. Such combinations are offered for sale in this form at retail outlets and there is usually no choice for the customer, that is, no interchangeability of the settings and objects. Thus, for example, if the customer prefers one setting with another ornamental object which is ofi'ered for sale in a second setting, little success in obtaining the desired combination is possible, since it is usually difficult to remove one object from its setting and transfer it to another setting. The jeweler may readily reset a precious stone, but other jewelry items such as cufilinks, pendants and even rings are sold as presented with no option for change.

To a lesser extent, this same problem confronts the customer when a selection of an item of personal jewelry is to be made. Once a product is purchased, interchangeability of jewelry settings has been impractical. With the structure of the present invention, it is possible for a consumer to replace one ornamental object with another in a given setting, thus enabling a given item of jewelry to be modified or altered to conform to the dictates of style or whim. Thus jade earrings designed to go with a green dress can be changed to coral earrings designed to go with a different outfit.

One specific form of jewelry to which interchangeability of objects is most desirable comprises a coin as the central object held in a coin frame setting. Different coins, even those approximately of the same size, in the past had to have coin frames more or less hand-tailored to fit the particular coin. The problem here is complicated by the fact that bonding materials, such as solder, cannot be used with United States coins because of laws against defacing those coins. Hence a person who wanted a coin framed would take his coin to a jeweler, who, in turn, would have to ship it to the coin frame manufacturer where the frame would be fitted. This was time consuming and expensive, but even more significantly, from a commercial point of view, it met with great consumer resistance, the owner of a coin, particularly a rare one, would not want to part with it.

It is the primary object of this invention therefore to provide jewelry articles which are characterized by a setting which is releasably secured to the ornamental object in the article.

It is another object of this invention to provide articles of jewelry in which the ornamental object is interchangeable with settings of other similar articles of jewelry.

It is still another object of this invention to provide an article of jewelry for holding valuable coins without defacing the coins and with a structure which is readily assembled by the purchaser without the need for the special skills of the manufacturer.

The aforementioned objects are satisfied by an article of jewelry comprising a setting having first and second parts releasably secured together and an ornamental object positioned between and held in position by the parts. The setting comprises a first part having an opening therein through which the ornamental object may be viewed. The second part is adapted to be joined to the first part in an interlocking engagement, and to support the central object against the opening in the first part. A member is connected to one of the parts and is effective to support the jewelry article in a carrying position such as when the article is worn for personal adornment.

In the preferred embodiment, the securing means is on the first part and comprises a plurality of flexible tab means projecting outwardly and adapted to flex over the second part I is placed between parts since they are pressed against a locking surface of the second part and not against the ornamental object. Preferably, the second part is provided with a plurality of receptacles in the backing surface which function to receive the projecting tabs in a non-slidable engagement.

In one embodiment of the invention, the first part of the jewelry setting comprises a circular rim having a flange extending radially inwardly from the front surface of the rim. This flange holds the ornamental object within the rim and defines the opening through which the object is viewed. The second setting part also comprises a circular member, preferably a plate, which is adapted to frictionally engage the inside peripheral surface of the rim. The ornamental object may be a circular disc having decorative indicia on a surface thereof or a plurality of precious stones or other ornamental elements affixed thereto. In another embodiment, the object comprises a coin and the setting therefore comprises a coin frame. In all of these arrangements the member which is useful for supporting the jewelry article in a carrying position when it is worn for personal adornment may comprise any one of conventional'securing means such as a cufflink clasp bar or other clasping means of the type normally used for such devices such as money clips, belt buckles, and even finger rings.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing, and to such other objects as may hereinafter appear, the present invention relates to an article of jewelry as defined in the appended claims, and as described with reference to the following drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the component parts of the jewelry article of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of a jewelry article formed with the components of FIG. I, and including a coin as the ornamental object;

FIG. 3 is a rear elevational view of the article illustrated in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a money clip as an article of jewelry typical of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a cufflink as another article of jewelry typical of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a belt buckle comprising still another article of jewelry of the invention; and

FIG. 8 illustrates a front elevational view of a finger ring comprising one more jewelry article of the invention.

Referring to the drawing, and specifically to FIG. 1, an article of jewelry generally designated 10 is shown prior to assembly. The article 10 comprises a first part 12, a second part 14 which together comprise the setting of the article, and an interposed ornamental object 16. The first part 12 is shown as a circular rim member 18 which includes a plurality of securing means here shown as tabs 20 projecting outwardly from the rear part 21 of the rim. A radially extending flange 22 projects inwardly from the front part 24 of the rim 18 and holds the element 16 when it is positioned between the parts as shown in FIGS. 2 7. The flange 22 defines an opening 26 through which the element 16 is viewable, as best shown in FIG. 2.

The second part 14 is shown in FIG. 1 as a circular member 28 having a plurality of receptacles 30 to receive tabs 20 in locking engagement when the latter are flexed. These receptacles 30 serve as a means for locating the tabs against the cross pieces 31 of the member 28 and to prevent relative rotation of the parts 12 and 14. As shown in FIG. 4, the article 10 when assembled is characterized by a relatively smooth surface profile because of the indented receiving area of receptacles 30.

In assembling the article 10, the object 16 is placed within the rim 18 and against the flanged portion 22. It is thereby exposed at its front face through the opening 26, and is held against movement through that opening by the flange 22. The member 28 is then positioned behind the object 16, and within the inside surface 32 of the rim 18. This member 28 is preferably designed to frictionally engage the inside rim surface 32 but to be capable of sliding motion relative to the rim so that it may be placed in and removed from the inner portion thereof. After placement of the member 28 within the rim 18, the tabs 20 are bent downwardly toward and into the receptacles 30 until they engage the member 28. This is best shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The member 28 as well as the object 16 are held tightly by the tabs 30 so that relative rotation of these parts is not possible after assembly. However, the connection of parts 12 and 14 is not made permanent by tabs 20. In fact, the object 16 is removable from the assembly by simply lifting the tabs to their extended position (FIG. 1), pulling out member 28 from within rim l8 and then withdrawing object 16. A different object may then be substituted and assembly of article 10 is thereafter carried out in the same manner as set forth above.

A member designated generally by the numeral 34 is operatively connected to one of the parts 12 or 14, and is useful to support the article of jewelry 10 in a carrying position when the article is used for personal adornment. In FIGS. 1 to 3 this member is shown as a pair of rings 36 and 38. Ring 36 is soldered or brazed to a supporting plate 40 which is secured on the surface of the rim 18, and ring 38 is positioned within ring 36. This particular supporting arrangement is useful for carrying the article on a chain such as a necklace or a bracelet. As a result, the article of jewelry illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3, is readily adapted for use as a charm, pendant or the like. Other sup porting members 34 may take the various forms shown in FIGS. through 8. In FIG. 5, for example, the member 34 comprises a resilient clasp bar 42 which is secured at a looped portion44 to the rim [8 of the first part 12. This bar may be useful for attaching the article of jewelry illustrated in FIG. 5 to a necktie so that it functions as a tie ornament. Moreover, this type of support member 34 is also useful for holding a billfold, and thus, the article 10 in FIG. 5 may also be used as a money clip.

In FIG. 6, the member 34 is shown as a cufflink clasp bar 46 which is pivotally connected at joint 48 to another bar 50 shown in broken lines. This bar 50 is soldered to the backplate 28, preferably at the central portion thereof. As such the article shown in FIG. 6 comprises a cufl'link and the object 16 framed by the article 10 may have any suitable decoration such as that of an inscribed bird.

FIG. 7 illustrates a support member 34 comprising a buckle 52 which is attached to the rim 18 by a suitable bonding agent such as solder. The article shown therefore is useful as a belt buckle and the object 16 appropriately contains initials of the wearer.

FIG. 8 illustrates still another article of jewelry a finger ring 54. The ring 54 comprises a supporting member 34 which can be a conventional finger-encircling part 56 composed of any suitable material, such as gold or silver. A back plate 58 may be secured to the upper portion of the ring, that back plate 58 corresponding to the second part 14, and preferably being provided with receptacle 30, such those illustrated in connection with the member 28 of the previously described embodiments. An appropriately shaped first part 12, similar to that described in the preceding embodiments, is adapted to be used in conjunction with the back plate 58, an ornamental object 16 being positioned on the back plate 58 and held in place by the part 12.

One of the important features of the article of jewelry 10 illustrated in the drawing is that the setting is separable into frame parts 12 and 14. The ability of the article 10 to be disassembled by simply erecting the tabs 20 and removing the backplate 28 and the object 16 imparts a great degree of flexibility to the article 10 and enables various kinds of ornamental objects 16 to be used with a single setting. Such a structure is most advantageous to the manufacturer and retailer. For,ex-' ample, the belt buckle shown in FIG. 7 may be sold with discs 16 having the proper initials as an off the shelf item without any delay for engraving time. Thus a plurality of discs 16 having different kinds of initials or different ornamentation may separately stocked by the manufacturer or retailer, and a selection of both setting and matching objects may be made by the customer at the point of sale. The flexibility of the article 10 is even further emphasized when it is considered that the ring 54 shown in FIG. 8 may be similarly modified to include difi'erent ornamental objects 16 whenever desired. Thus a single ring setting may be used to carry one of a number of different objects and thereby effectively may be stocked by the retailer and used by him to produce any one of a plurality of finished rings.

Another important aspect of the structure described is that it is useful as a coin holder as shown in FIG. 2. In the past individuals having valuable coins and wishing to decoratively arrange the coins in a proper setting have not been able to satisfy their wishes unless the coin is given to the coin frame manufacturer for setting. With the subject structure, however, the frame itself, in the form of the first and second parts 12 and 14 may be stocked by the jeweler, and he can assemble the coin in his store without damage to the coin. Reluctance on the part of the customer to release valuable coins to the mails for such framing is no longer a factor; the framing can be done by the neighborhood jeweler, even while the customer waits and watches.

From the foregoing it will be appreciated that the article of jewelry described presents a novel structure which is advantageous for manufacture and retailer and even the consumer. This article is adapted to accept ornaments of various kinds, thereby enabling the interchange of settings and objects v without difiiculty. The article is therefore uniquely different and refreshingly variable and thus a major contribution to the jewelry art.

Although several embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, it will be apparent that additional modifications of the invention may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

Iclaim:

1. An article of jewelry comprising a first part having an opening therein, an ornamental element positioned at said opening so as to be viewable therethrough, a second part removably connected to said first part and effective to releasably support said ornamental element between said parts, securing means operatively connected to one of said parts and extending outwardly therefrom and effective to flex into and out of engagement with the other of said parts thereby to removably connect said parts, and a member operatively connected to one of said parts and effective to support said article in a carrying position when said article is used for personal adornment, said securing means comprising a plurality of flexible tab means projecting outwardly from said one part and adapted to flex over said other part into locking engagement therewith, said other part provided with a plurality of receptacles having open tops and bottom walls, said bottom walls extending over said ornamental element, having outwardly disposed end edges located radially at least as far outwardly as the periphery of said ornamental element, said flexed tab means being bent around said end edges and onto said bottom walls of said receptacles respectively and being substantially completely received in said receptacles during said locking engagement, whereby said tab means retain said second part on said first part against rotational and axial movement, said ornamental element is protected against damage from said tabs and from the bending of said tabs, and

the wearer of the article of jewelry is protected against damage or injury from said tabs.

2. The article of claim 1, in which said supporting member is mounted on said first part.

t I 1k 4' I 

1. An article of jewelry comprising a first parT having an opening therein, an ornamental element positioned at said opening so as to be viewable therethrough, a second part removably connected to said first part and effective to releasably support said ornamental element between said parts, securing means operatively connected to one of said parts and extending outwardly therefrom and effective to flex into and out of engagement with the other of said parts thereby to removably connect said parts, and a member operatively connected to one of said parts and effective to support said article in a carrying position when said article is used for personal adornment, said securing means comprising a plurality of flexible tab means projecting outwardly from said one part and adapted to flex over said other part into locking engagement therewith, said other part provided with a plurality of receptacles having open tops and bottom walls, said bottom walls extending over said ornamental element, having outwardly disposed end edges located radially at least as far outwardly as the periphery of said ornamental element, said flexed tab means being bent around said end edges and onto said bottom walls of said receptacles respectively and being substantially completely received in said receptacles during said locking engagement, whereby said tab means retain said second part on said first part against rotational and axial movement, said ornamental element is protected against damage from said tabs and from the bending of said tabs, and the wearer of the article of jewelry is protected against damage or injury from said tabs.
 2. The article of claim 1, in which said supporting member is mounted on said first part. 